A judge is blocking a popular North Carolina tourist destination from violating the state’s school calendar law.
The Carteret County School Board had adopted a calendar that set the start of classes for the 2024-25 school year to Aug. 13, two weeks earlier than allowed by state law. On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge William D. Wolf issued an order invalidating the calendar.
“We are pleased with the court’s decision,” Mitchell Armbruster, an attorney for three local businesses that sued the school system, said in a statement. “All we asked for in this lawsuit was for the school district to comply with the law, yet the school board has openly admitted that it is violating the law.”
“We shouldn’t be teaching our kids that it’s okay to break the law.”
Beachgoers flock to Atlantic Beach beaches after Hurricane Arthur on July 4, 2014. Three local businesses are suing the Quartet County School System for adopting a calendar for the 2024-25 school year that doesn’t comply with North Carolina school calendar law.
Carteret County is home to popular coastal destinations such as Atlantic Beach, Emerald Isle, and Morehead City.
School officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The News & Observer.
Schools vs. the Tourism Industry
State lawmakers have been regulating the school calendar for two decades after the tourism industry expressed concerns about classes starting earlier than August.
The state’s traditional public schools cannot open earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 26 or close later than the Friday closest to June 11. The calendar law does not apply to other public schools, including year-round schools, early college-track high schools and charter schools.
Efforts to change the law have failed, and at least 16 school districts have chosen not to follow the calendar law.
In December, the Carteret County Board of Education unanimously approved the 2024-25 school year calendar, which runs from Aug. 13 to May 22.
The district says the schedule will make it easier for high school students to take classes at community colleges because the two schools’ calendars will align, and it will also improve academic success by allowing high school students to take fall exams before winter break.
Judge declares schedule invalid
The owners of Atlantic Beach Surf Shop, Marsh’s Surf Shop and Sanitary Fish Market & Restaurant filed the lawsuit in Carteret County Superior Court in April.
“These businesses rely on the School Calendar Act to plan, staff and operate their businesses, and the revenue losses they would suffer as a result of a shortened summer season would be significant,” the lawsuit states.
But the district argued that a mid-August start was necessary “to promote solely and exclusively the best interests of the students.” The district also argued that the calendar law violated the state constitution.
“We deeply regret that three businesses and some of their families have challenged our 2024-25 calendar in court,” Carteret County Superintendent Richard Paylor said in a statement in April. “We know our calendar has tremendous support from area businesses and families.”
In his order, Judge Wolf dismissed the District’s constitutional challenge.
“It is ORDERED, JUDGED and DECREED that the proposed calendar adopted by defendants for the 2024-25 school year, which is scheduled to begin on August 13, 2024, is contrary to statute and invalid,” Judge Wolf wrote in his order. “Defendants are enjoined from adopting or implementing any school schedule for such school year that does not comply with the requirements set forth in (state law).”
